


build a fire (warm and bright)

by axsun



Series: illuminated by moon and fire [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi, The Shadow of Kyoshi
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, I love her, Not A Lot Of Plot, Pining, READ THE WARNINGS AT THE BEGINNING, again! still my personal american au, but - Freeform, if that's not your cup of tea i don't mind, jinpa is my fav, kyoshi is so very oblivious, lots of, rangi is trying so hard, this one is more worldbuilding than anything, wasn't sure but i put a content warning just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27841219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axsun/pseuds/axsun
Summary: “Thanks, Jinpa,” she says. “I’ll tell her to stop, I promise.”“Oh, I don’t mind,” is his response, absentmindedly powering up his laptop and leaning back in his chair. “Either way, I’m sure Rangi would find some way to send you breakfast herself. She’s quite the girlfriend, if I don’t say so myself.”Kyoshi chokes on her sip of coffee (vanilla latte, one espresso shot, extra cream) and just barely manages to keep herself from spitting it out over her laptop. Valiantly, she swallows, but she keeps her head down, not trusting herself to look at Jinpa with the heat in her cheeks.“She’s not— I’m not— girlfriend,” she clarifies, and Kyoshi takes the resulting silence to imagine Jinpa’s face, eyes wide but eyebrows questioning.(A shift at the university library with Jinpa. Kyoshi pines, again.)
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Series: illuminated by moon and fire [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2015338
Comments: 12
Kudos: 82





	build a fire (warm and bright)

**Author's Note:**

> this fic (and entire series) takes place in a modern american au.
> 
> content warning: discussions of food and eating habits, brief mention of disordered eating.

Jinpa’s already arrived when Kyoshi comes back from organizing the backroom, shooting her one of his signature warm smiles before gesturing to the cup and brown bag next to him.

“Rangi said to give this to you,” he explains, sipping from his own cup (black, two espresso shots), and Kyoshi flushes before returning the smile, sliding into her seat.

“Thanks, Jinpa,” she says. “I’ll tell her to stop, I promise.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” is his response, absentmindedly powering up his laptop and leaning back in his chair. “Either way, I’m sure Rangi would find some way to send you breakfast herself. She’s quite the girlfriend, if I don’t say so myself.”

Kyoshi chokes on her sip of coffee (vanilla latte, one espresso shot, extra cream) and just barely manages to keep herself from spitting it out over her laptop. Valiantly, she swallows, but she keeps her head down, not trusting herself to look at Jinpa with the heat in her cheeks.

“She’s not— I’m not— girlfriend,” she clarifies, and Kyoshi takes the resulting silence to imagine Jinpa’s face, eyes wide but eyebrows questioning. She takes another sip of her latte to give herself something to do.

“Ah,” Jinpa says wisely, and Kyoshi is saved by a student asking for a laptop rental.

They settle into the typical morning routine: Kyoshi opens the library laptop rental form, enters the student’s name and ID number, and blocks out the rental hours while Jinpa steps back a bit to pull a laptop from their laptop cart. The student asks for a charger, and Jinpa makes a quick grab for the corresponding wires before passing them over the counter to the student.

“Thank you, have a nice day,” Kyoshi recites to the receding student figure, and she sits back in her seat, some sense of routine restored. It’s almost enough to make her forget about the conversation previously until Jinpa speaks again.

“My apologies,” he says. “From how often she spoke about you, I just assumed.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Kyoshi says, voice thick. _ She talks about me? _ “She’s, uh, she’s my—”

_ Friend? Tutor? Mentor? Heart? World? _

There are only so many socially acceptable things she can tell her coworker, especially when said-coworker is Rangi’s roommate, and so she settles with a flat, “friend.” 

Which isn’t wrong at all, Rangi really is her friend, and maybe her best friend alongside Yun, but Rangi and Yun aren’t the same friend. They’re friends, but they aren’t interchangeable, there is something different that changes everything and makes Rangi maybe more than a friend.

A beat before Kyoshi realizes she’s been hovering on something and Jinpa is waiting patiently for her next sentence, and Kyoshi blurts out, “So, how are your classes?”

J inpa blinks, clearly unnerved by the sudden change in topic, but sweet Jinpa, oh sweet calm Jinpa, goes along with it.

" It’s been fine,” he says, opening Excel to examine his schedule. “We’re only a month into the semester, so the first paper is coming up next week. Which will be fun.”

“That’s neat,” Kyoshi says. “You’re a political science major, right?”

“As of now,” Jinpa responds, filling in a block under his TO-DO column with a bright green before opening Ecosia. “I’ve been floating something in international affairs, but political science seems to be the choice.”

“My friend’s studying political science too,” Kyoshi says, clicking open her research spreadsheet. “He says all the classes feel the same after a while.”

" Yun, right? Yun Jian?”

“Yes, him.”

“Ah,” Jinpa says, his tone pondering and with something Kyoshi can’t quite pick out. “He’s in my political behavior class, I can see why.”

“Does he go to class?”

“Yes, but I don’t think he listens. Not that it matters, he’s the only one who can go toe-to-toe with Dr. Beifong.”

“Toe-to-toe?” Kyoshi frowns. “In debates?”

J inpa hums as he considers his next words. “Dr. Beifong lectures by asking rhetorical questions, but Yun answers them literally. Not that it’s bad,” Jinpa adds hastily, “I think he’s the only one who understands theory, to be honest.”

“Huh,” Kyoshi says. A thinking sound.

“Did you two go to school together?”

“Yes, we went to high school together. I don’t think he ever talked back to a teacher then.”

“It’s not really talking back,” Jinpa says. “Dr. Beifong seems to enjoy it. It’s just a bit brazen, considering I don’t think he’s opened a single textbook yet.”

Which also doesn’t seem like a very Yun thing. Yun is put-together— maybe not as much as Rangi, but there’s an order to his madness, a control in his wild eyes and easy-going temper. But Yun has never slacked in his studies. He’s maybe two weeks late to the start of the curriculum, but he catches up, and he is always prepared.

Jinpa is still talking when Kyoshi realizes she’s zoned out, and she comes back just in time to hear Jinpa ask, “... croissant?”

“Croissant?” Kyoshi repeats.

Jinpa motions to the brown bag, forgotten next to her latte. “Rangi made clear that she wanted you to eat a croissant, but do you even want it?”

Ah. Croissant. Kyoshi goes to pick up the bag but her hand twists to pick up her latte, and she sips from that instead.

“I used to skip meals a lot,” she admits. “Not because of disordered eating or anything, I was just never hungry. But Rangi hated that when we were younger, she thought I wasn’t taking care of myself.”

Jinpa is nodding along, and Kyoshi gets the feeling that this isn’t something she should be telling her coworker. But Rangi’s roped Jinpa into this whole routine, and if Rangi trusts Jinpa enough to pass on her own enforcements, then Kyoshi will trust Jinpa too.

“She says that a lot,” Jinpa says. “Worries that you aren’t eating or sleeping enough.”

Kyoshi winces. So Jinpa unfortunately knows too much about her.

“She worries too much,” Kyoshi says, hating the way her voice wobbles a bit at the end. She clears her throat before shaking her head. “It’s not a big deal, Jinpa. I promise. Rangi just likes to have control over everything. She’ll understand sooner or later it’s just how I am.”

Jinpa nods, eyes watching and face carefully neutral, and they’re interrupted by another student approaching them for a laptop rental. They settle back into routine, more and more students coming into the library as the morning classes finish up, and the two work efficiently as always. When Kyoshi finally goes to nibble her croissant, it’s cold and damp, its heat long-gone.

Their shift finishes at 2PM, their replacements coming in as Kyoshi and Jinpa finish sliding their laptops into their bags. Just when Kyoshi finishes her three-tap routine on the carpet before stepping onto the concrete, Jinpa says a greeting that makes Kyoshi’s stomach twist.

“Rangi,” he says, “you’re here for your friend?”

“My headache,” a familiar voice corrects. Kyoshi looks up, and her breath catches.

Rangi looks like Rangi has always looked, still in her clean-pressed maroon button up and gold-lined sweater vest, Oxfords and backpack stripes glinting in the sunlight, but the way the sunlight catches on her and casts shadows across her face leaves Kyoshi speechless. Her chest aches at the way Rangi looks at her, narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows, aches at the way Rangi called her  _ hers _ .

" I’m your very own headache?” Kyoshi forces out, pulling her best teasing tone and hoping neither Jinpa or Rangi notice the way her voice wavers.

Rangi’s eyes flicker down to the brown bag still clutched in her hand and back up to meet Kyoshi’s gaze.

“My very own headache,” she agrees, making no comment on the possessive. “Thank you for trying, Jinpa. Your efforts are appreciated.”

“Thank you for understanding,” Jinpa replies, leaning down to tip an imaginary hat at his roommate before raising his hand in farewell. “I’ll see you two later. Take care, Kyoshi.”

“Bye Jinpa,” Kyoshi says half-heartedly, and she swears he winks at her before turning back to his dorm.

T he two stand together, watching Jinpa’s disappearing figure before Rangi makes her statement.

“You didn’t eat your breakfast.”

Kyoshi brushes her hand over Rangi’s arm. “I was waiting to get lunch with you.”

“Breakfast was four hours ago,” Rangi seethes, and Kyoshi resists the urge to smile when Rangi snaps her glare up to Kyoshi. Maybe four years ago, it would’ve terrified her. Now, with the girl barely up to her shoulders, it’s hard to take her angry front seriously, especially knowing how much Rangi genuinely cared for Kyoshi. “Imagine, you could’ve eaten breakfast and gotten lunch with me.”

Her good mood evaporates immediately. “You aren’t getting lunch with me?”

“No, because you didn’t eat breakfast,” Rangi says.

“I’ll eat right now,” Kyoshi offers. Rangi raises an eyebrow at her, and true to her word, Kyoshi takes a small bite out of the croissant.

“Which dining hall?” Rangi finally asks. “It’s pho day at the Southern Hall.”

The vegan dining hall that Rangi knows is Kyoshi’s personal favorite. She tries not to think too much about it and shoves the last of the croissant into her mouth.

“Pho sounds great.”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full.”

**Author's Note:**

> not much action, this one is just world-building !! aka i'm getting super invested into this au which means i'm working more and more into the worldbuilding. so. this series does have a climax?? but we're still going through exposition right now, but we'll feature some scenes of baby rangi and kyoshi, dw :))  
> as always, lmk if you like this series and/or au, and also lmk if there's something i said/wrote that needs fixing!


End file.
